The Stars My Destination: Artemis III & Soyuz MS-17

Yesterday, N.A.S.A. announced the selection of SpaceX as the constructor of the Human Landing System (H.L.S.) to ferry astronauts to & from the surface of the Moon beginning with 2024's Artemis III mission. The H.L.S. Starship beat out more Apollo Lunar Module-like H.L.S. concepts from Dynetics & Blue Origin. I'm inherently leary of Starship's single-stage architecture & not encouraged by the rate at which Starship prototypes keep exploding upon landing during test flights over Texas, but I see little option but to trust that the eggheads at N.A.S.A. know what they're doing. SpaceX has done a bang-up job with the Dragon 2 capsule (in both Crew & Cargo variants) & the Falcon 9 rocket. Starships keep exploding & the Super Heavy rocket has yet to fly, but there are goods reasons to think these systems will eventually be as reliable as the Crew Dragon-Falcon 9 combination, which is set to ferry the Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station (I.S.S.) next week.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Human Landing System
Frank Sinatra, "Fly Me to the Moon" from It Might As Well Be Swing (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

We are now halfway through a busy April of crew rotation aboard the I.S.S. Last Week, two Russian cosmonauts & an American astronaut blasted off to & arrived at the station aboard Soyuz MS-18 (the Yu.A. Gagarin, the first indication I've ever seen that the Russians name their capsules) & today a different trio of two cosmonauts & an astronaut landed safely in Kazahkstan aboard the Soyuz MS-17 (the Favor). Next week, the Crew-2 mission of four astronauts—two Americans, one Japanese, & one European—is set to launch to the I.S.S., withe the Crew-1 mission of four astronauts—three Americans & one Japanese—set to return the week after next. Two down, two to go. What a time to be alive!

Saints + Scripture: Pascha — Please Stand By

The Popish Plot
"Grid Pattern"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

The Ninjas, "Astrogirl" from Platypus (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: The above photograph is of N.A.S.A. astronaut & physician Anna Fisher, who flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery during S.T.S.-51-A in 1984, becoming the first mother in space.

"She said she got the call last night
And she was really sorry things had changed so rapidly and so decisively,
She said she'd wanted this for years
And she'd be a hero and a millionaire way out there in other galaxies.

"And life on Earth wouldn't be that bad
If you were still here today,
But now you're way out of orbit
And I fear you're light years away.

"Well, I drove down to Cape Canaveral, watched her board the ship,
And held back tears as I heard the countdown start.
Well, I thought we had a lot, I thought we had it all,
But all she left me with was this black hole in place of my heart.

"And life on Earth wouldn't be that bad
If you were still here today,
But now you're way out of orbit
And I fear you're light years away."

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

King Apparatus, "Sodom and Toronto" from Marbles (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Another ska song was lined up to be today's R.B.D.S.O.T.D., but I woke up this morning with "Sodom and Toronto" running through my head. Lyrically, "Sodom and Toronto" is my least favorite song ever featured in over a decade of conducting SKApril annually, but 'twas the music that was running through my head this morning, not the lyrics.

The Stars My Destination: S.T.S.-1

We have now begun in earnest a new series in "The Explorers' Club's" ever-expanding exploration of human spaceflight: the Space Shuttle program. This will be a different experience than our previous series, for a great many reasons. I have much more mixed emotions about the Space Shuttle than I do our Projects Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, & Skylab. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, & Skylab are historical triumphs in which I revel unreservedly, marveling at the audacity & competence with which man first conquered space. By contrast, the Space Shuttle is part of my lived experience, not distant history. I grew up with news about Space Shuttle flights a routine part of life, taken for granted, even after the Challenger disaster—which I watched live on television at my elementary school, as a mention every January on the anniversary of the tragedy. I was saddened & angered by the end of the Shuttle program in 2011, in part because I'd only ever known a world of regular Space Shuttle flights & felt acutely the loss. Yet, because the Space Shuttle was part of the background of normal life, there is so very much I don't know about those missions, not only those that took place when I was a small child—I wasn't yet two years old when S.T.S.-1 flew—but the missions of my teenage years & twenties, too. There is much to explore.

Part of the story is the Challenger & Columbia disasters. The Space Shuttle directly killed fourteen astronauts, more persons than have died in all other fatal spaceflight incidents, from all nations, combined; more than all non-spaceflight fatalities involving astronauts & cosmonauts combined (deaths like those of Valentin Bondarenko, Ted Freeman, Elliot See, Charlie Bassett, & C.C. Williams). The horrifying & enraging part of those two disasters is that the Challenger seven died as a result of negligence & institutional arrogance, while the Columbia seven died of an inherent flaw in the conception & design of the Space Shuttle. Neither incident was truly an accident. The Space Shuttle was a magnificent flying machine, but it was also fundamentally flawed. I experience a smoldering anger when I think about the chains of events that led to the destruction of the Challenger & the Columbia & the deaths of their brave crews. Yet for all that anger & disillusionment with the Shuttle, my childhood fascination & reverence remains. Seeing the Space Shuttle Endeavour with my own eyes on a visit to Los Angeles was a transcendent experience, & largely responsible for rekindling my love for human spaceflight after the disillusionment of the Shuttle's retirement. I'm fascinated by the Space Shuttle as the vehicle for achieving our spaceflight dreams; I'm horrified by the Space Shuttle as a inherently flawed death trap for its crews. As I said, mixed emotions.

Another factor is the sheer scale of the Space Shuttle program: one hundred thirty-five flights, S.T.S.-1 through S.T.S.-135, across thirty years, 1981-2011. There were six manned Mercury flights, ten manned Gemini flights, & fifteen Apollo flights (Apollo proper, plus Skylab & Apollo-Soyuz); that's thirty-one flights, Mercury 3 through Apollo-Soyuz, across fourteen years, 1961-1975. Starting with the fortieth anniversary of S.T.S.-1 now, I highly doubt The Secret Base & "The Explorers' Club" will endure 'til the fortieth anniversary of S.T.S.-135 in 2051, but for the nonce I'm just looking forward to taking it one mission at a time. The future will come, ready or not, or it won't. Nothing I can do about it. As the Lord teaches us, be concerned with today, not tomorrow (Matthew, 6:34). We are unidirectional time travelers, moving ever forward in the eternal "now," the only moment we ever experience.

There's one more Space Shuttle fortieth anniversary to observe in 2021 (S.T.S.-2), & then three more in 2022 (S.T.S.-3, S.T.S.-4, & S.T.S.-5), by which time we ought to have wrapped up with the fiftieth anniversaries of Apollo 16 & Apollo 17 & will be looking forward in 2023 (& a little of 2024) to the fifteth anniversarys of Skylab 1, Skylab 2, Skylab 3, & Skylab 4. This year we also ought to wrap up the fifty-fifth anniversaries of Gemini IX-A, Gemini X, Gemini XI, & Gemini XII; we aren't aiming to finish with the fifty-ninth anniversaries of Project Mercury 'til next year, 2022. Plus, more sixtieth & fiftieth anniversaries of the Soviet space program; I considered covering the fortieth anniversary of Soviet spaceflight in the 1980s, contemporaneous with the Shuttle era, but for the moment the backlog of Soviet missions from the 1960s & 1970s seems sufficient enough a challenge, without also tackling the 1980s. About all of that, I reserve the right to change my mind.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha — Please Stand By

The Popish Plot
"The Fisherman's Tomb by John O'Neill"

The Explorers' Club, № DCCCXI

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-1
12-14 April 1981: The Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102 lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center LC-39A with CDR John Young & Pilot Bob Crippen; this was the first flight of the entire Space Shuttle—Orbiter, External Tank, & Solid Rocket Boosters—there had not been an uncrewed test flight; the Columbia lost several of its thermal protection tiles, but landed safely at California's Edwards A.F.B.

Commentary: It was pure coincidence that S.T.S.-1 launched on the twentieth anniversary of the first manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1, 12 April 1961. The Columbia was originally scheduled to lift off on 10 April 1981, before that launch attempt was scrubbed due to a software problem.

This was the first flight of the Columbia OV-102.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: S.T.S.-1
Rush, "Countdown" from Signals (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: "Countdown" is about S.T.S.-1, incorporating audio clips from space-to-ground communications between the crew & Mission Control as well as N.A.S.A. Public Affairs.

Semper exploro.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha

Simplex Edition | Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa!

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter five, verses twenty-seven thru thirty-three;
Psalm Thirty-four (R/. seven[a]; or "Alleluia"), verses two & nine, seventeen & eighteen, & nineteen & twenty;
The Gospel according to John, chapter three, verses thirty-one thru thirty-six.

Commentary: Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today’s Gospel declares that the Son of God does not ration his gift of the Spirit. At the cathedral in Chartres, the figure of Jesus is surrounded by seven doves, symbolizing these seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. The Messiah will be filled up with all of the powers and energies of God’s Spirit.

These seven gifts have played a prominent role in our tradition, appearing in theologians as diverse as Gregory the Great, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas. These gifts are signs that the Christian is participating in Jesus Christ. In holding up this image, therefore, the Church is asking us to meditate on the people that we are called to be: participants in Jesus.

How does one come by these gifts? We can’t really earn them or work our way toward them. But they do come from Jesus Christ, and therefore from our proximity to him through the Church and the sacraments. As we wait in joyful hope for the coming of the Lord, pray for the conformity to him which consists in the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Video reflection by Deacon Clarence McDavid (U.S.C. of Catholic Bishops): Paschal Reflection.

Video reflection by Curtis Mitch (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Paschal Reflection.

Papal Quote o' the Day

"May prayers give wings to work, purify intentions, & be a defense against the longings of materialism. And may work in its turn lead to the refreshing encounter with God in which humanity rediscovers its primordial vocation & the true meaning of its existence."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)

Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day

"We all have a part to play in God's glorious plans. Even if you write a letter for a blind man, or just sit & listen to someone, or you take the mail for him, & you visit somebody or bring a flower to somebody, or wash clothes for somebody or clean the house—small things, but these are great things in the eyes of God."
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"But above all preserve peace of heart. This is more valuable than any tresure. In order to preserve it there is nothing more useful than renouncing your own will & substitutiong for it the will of the Divine Heart. In this way His will can carry out for us whatever contributes to His glory, & we will be happy to be His subjects & to trust entirely in Him."
—St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, V.H.M. (1647-1690, feast: 16 October)

Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day

"We've almost gotten away from the concept of sacrificial love in our modern world. We succumb to Jesus Christ Superstar & rejoice & sing songs to someone attired in Reynolds Wrap, to make him forget that he's dying without a resurrection. So we teach our young that He's a superstar. Superstar; Who's a star? Someone who has a star over his dressing room door; the communications media are mad about him. Our Blessed Lord had no star over His dressing room door. He was driven out of a city, out to a garbage heap & there crucified. Thomas did not want this superstar, he said, 'Unless I can put my finger into His hand & put my hand into His side I will not believe.' I want a God who goes to death. 'For greater love than this no man hath.' What Thomas wanted was not Christ the superstar but a super scar."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

The Assassinators, "Bottle Down" from the American Skathic II: More Ska from America's Breadbasket! compilation (via YouTube) (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Ska-link. This is all one YouTube video, not a playlist; if you don't want to listen to the whole thing, or don't have the time to do so, "Bottle Down" begins at 24:12.

The Assassinators were my Twitter pal Bravo Charlie's short-lived band from Cleveland ("late 93 to early 95"). I've heard my friends, Flint's own The Loose Ties, on the 23 Minutes of Ska podcast; it's interesting to note both how big & how small the ska world is.

Love them or hate them, ska puns are a part of the genre, thus Grand Wood's far-famed, often-imitated picture American Gothic was parodied as "American Skathic."

Bonus! Song o' the Day: This Day in SKApril History

Operation AXIOM: Thursday, 14 April 2011
The Hippos, "Don't Worry" from Forget the World (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: One idea I had to fête this eleventh SKApril, this start of the second decade of SKApril, was to feature daily SKApril R.B.D.S.O.T.D. from years past. This would serve the twofold function of celebrating the rich history of SKApril & highlighting some great songs that, due to the rules of SKApril, haven't been highlighted in years. As you can see, that hasn't happened yet. Maybe I'll continue doing so for the remainder of this SKApril, maybe I'll wait until next year's SKApril XII, maybe I'll forget the whole thing as soon as I publish this. We shall see.

"So, you know that everybody's going to
The ska shows when it used to be just you,
You feel betrayed, alone, left out,
All your favorite bands have all sold out.

"Don't worry,
I, I still love you,
Don't worry,
I, I still love you.

"Now you see them on M.T.V.,
No way they're gonna remember little old me,
What's become of your ska scene?
All the bands want money, all the bands are mean.

"Don't worry,
I, I still love you,
Don't worry,
I, I still love you.

"So please come to the show tonight,
I promise everything is gonna be alright,
Boys are gonna go start a pit,
But all you wanna do is dance, you're sick of this punk bit.

"Don't worry,
I, I still love you,
Don't worry,
I, I still love you.

The Long Twilight Struggle

We are trying to have a civilization here, & failing.

This morning, Kathryn Jean Lopez, a writer for National Review magazine, asked on her Twitter account for prayers for three women who were in a Planned Parenthood clinic, scared & unsure of what do to. One of the responses was:

"Mind your own business."

Now, as things go in the angry, vicious, & often irrational world of abortion discussions, even without the aggrevating factor of social media-induced sociopathy, this wasn't too bad a response. But the blatant hypocrisy of the commenter not minding her own business by telling Miss Lopez to mind her own business caught my eye & roused my ire. I replied:

"Kindly follow your own advice."

The eventual reply revealed the true character of the "Mind your own business" commenter:

"Kindly stuck a reptile up your ass."

I presume she meant the imperative "stick," not the past tense "stuck," because it remains manifestly untrue that I had ever stuck a reptile up my ass. But even putting aside the obvious grammatical error, this smug individual feels at liberty to tell others to mind their own business, but when she is asked to mind her own business, she replies with suggestions of animal cruelty. I have prayed & will continue to pray for her, with the fringe benefit of knowing this would annoy her if she knew I was doing so.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha — Please Stand By

Operation ÖSTERREICH: Easter Feaster Edition

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in
Last weigh-in: 340.0 lbs
This weigh-in: 342.4 lbs.
Difference: +2.4 lbs.

Bonus! Lied von ÖSTERREICH
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Waffle King" from Alapalooza (Mike Papa Waffle)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

Kalles Kaviar, "Reggae Music Sweet" from Volume 6 (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"Reggae music sweet!
That's the way I like it.
Reggae music sweet!
How it's got to be.

"Whenever times get harder,
Whenever I feel down,
I put on some Upsetters
And then I come back round…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

Conquer Rocks, "Ska Haboob" from the Birth of the Fourth Wave of Ska compilation (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey-san)

Saints + Scripture: Pascha — Please Stand By

The Explorers' Club, № DCCCX

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Vostok 1
12 April 1961: Vostok 1 lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying Pilot Yuri Gagarin aboard a Vostok 3KA capsule atop a Vostok-K rocket; he became the first man in space during the orbital flight; the flight was entirely automatic, with Gargarin serving as a passenger; he ejected from the Vostok capsule after reentry & parachuted to earth ten minutes after the capsule.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Vostok 1
Public Service Broadcasting, "Gagarin" from The Race for Space (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Saints + Scripture: Pascha — Please Stand By

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

Dance Hall Crashers, "My Problem" from The Old Record (1989-1992) (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"I am never coming back,
Not because of anything you lack,
Believe me, there's nothing that you can do,
The problem's with me and not with you.

"You've been there for me each and every time,
Trust me, it's not your problem, it is mine,
I'm sorry, I don't know what's going through my head,
I didn't mean for you to be misled.

"For some reason, I don't know,
It doesn't feel right, so I have to go,
Don't let it hurt your self-esteem,
You'll be some girl's everlasting dream.
It has nothing to do with you,
Please trust me, for I'm being true,
I'm sorry for the pain it will bring,
It's just another dumb girl thing.

"You've been there for me each and every time,
Trust me, it's not your problem, it is mine,
I'm sorry, I don't know what's going through my head,
I didn't mean for you to be misled…"

Bonus! Song o' the II Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)

Second Sunday of Easter | Sunday
The Daughters of Mary, "To Jesus Heart All Burning" from De Profundis (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Saints + Scripture: II Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)

'Tis the Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday of Divine Mercy)

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

Don Drummond & the Skatalites, "Man in the Street" from 100 Reggae & Ska Hits (Rude Boy Bravo Charlie)

Skammentary (corrected): Back to the beginning with a little roots ska nominated by Bravo Charlie, who described Don Drummond "Man in the Street" as "one of my all-time favs." One of my favorite aspects of SKApril is the way a particular song will speak to you as nothing else does. What is it about "Man in the Street" that speaks to Bravo Charlie? I suspect a witch's brew of factors, including the time & context in which the song was first encountered. We will probably never know for sure, which is good; a life bereft of all mysteries would be a life bereft of enchantment & charm. Alas, Drummond was also a criminally insane murderer who died in prison, but that doesn't make his music any less good. We're all complicated. We're all in need of a Savior.

Also, the above are the correct proportions for the Jamaican flag, 1:2.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

Show-Ska, "Heartful Rocker" from Time After Time (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey-san)

Skammentary: And now for something completely different. I might even describe Show-Ska in general, & "Heartful Rocker" in particular, as disco-influenced ska. The lyrics are in Japanese & heavily-acented English; so, I won't even attempt to to quote them below, but "Heartful Rocker" is danged catchy. Ska around the world!

Saints + Scripture: Octave of Easter — Please Stand By

The Explorers' Club, № DCCCIX

Operation AXIOM: The 62nd Anniversary of Astronaut Group 1 (the "Mercury Seven"), Part I
9 April 1959: The "Mercury Seven," N.A.S.A.'s Astronaut Group 1, were announced: Alan B. Shepard Jr. (1923-1998), Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom (1926-1967), John H. Glenn Jr. (1921-2016), M. Scott Carpenter (1925-2013), Walter M. Schirra Jr. (1923-2007), L. Gordon Cooper Jr. (1927-2004), & Donald K. "Deke" Slayton (1924-1993); the Seven became icons, but couldn't buy life insurance.

Bonus! Song o' the Day: Mercury Seven
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, "Rocket Man" from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Have a Ball (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Saints + Scripture: Octave of Easter — Please Stand By

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

Smash Mouth, "Road Man" from Astro Lounge (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: SKApril has always taken a broadminded, inclusive, one could even say ecumenical view of ska. Even "Weird Al" Yankovic has provided a song to SKApril: 1999's "Your Horoscope for Today" was part of SKApril 2019. Smash Mouth aren't a ska band, but if "Road Man" isn't a ska song—& I would argue it is, or maybe a reggae song—it is clearly ska-influenced.

"Road Man driving in the road van,
He's got to beat the clock to the next town,
Road Man driving in the road van,
Set up the sound system for the band.

"Road Man, slow it down
And you will get there safe and sound,
He says, 'No, no, no, the show must go on.'

"Road Man driving like a mad man,
Breaking land speed records in the van,
Road Man, he don't mind police man,
Leaving trail of ripped up citations…

"Road Man didn't see the train, man,
Until it was too late to slow the van.
Meanwhile, the band is waiting for the Road Man,
Who was crushed by his beloved sound system.

"Road Man, slow it down
And you will get there safe and sound,
He says, 'No, no, no, no, no, no
'No, no the show must go on,
'The show must go on
'The show must go on
'The show must go on
'The show must go on.'"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKApril XI

Half Past Two, "Smile Like You Mean It" from the Camp Slushtone E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: A ska cover of the Killers' song. Half Past Two's music video involves the very best kind of science: mad science. Also, comeuppance.

Saints + Scripture: Octave of Easter — Please Stand By

The Popish Plot
"Catholic T-Shirt Club Unboxing: The Mass"